Comparing the Storyboard to a professional example

I will do this in two stages: First a further character development skecth and then my storyboard.

At the start of the unit wew were tasked with picking a character to do a storyboard on I chose Samurai Jack as he was a personal favourite of mine and looks easy to draw. So I found a reasonable picture to trace which I did. I made some few concept images with it then we were tasked to change the design so I made two different versions of Jack I did an Evil Jack with an appropiate design with a black and red robe to show a more sinister evil side of Jack and the second was a futuristic Jack. The design for this one was extraordinary as there were many physical and visual changes. My favourite part would be his sword as it has a protective aura which can deflect projectiles but also leaves a motion blur effect after he has used it.A very basic design but effective as the colours clash and the textures look reasonable. After completing Evil Jack I thought of going a bit wild with the design and as an end product I got the concept art of what a future Jack looks like. The Jack above (normal) was the one I traced from and putting them together the future Jack has more detail. Genndy Tartkovsky would be pleased.

Evaluation for my Unit 67 Game Trailer Storyboard part 7

Did you meet the Deadline?

I got the work done before the deadline as I have expereince in Photoshop I was able to complete it in time. The deadline was reasonable there was enough time to get the work done. I was efficient with the time given as I got everything complete before they were needed to hand in.

Did you have any problems with time management?

Not really as time given was easy enough to manage, I had three hours a week to get it done and also an hour for workshop was useful. When I was working ont he storyboard I wasn't reallly concerned with time as that put me off my work and make me worry about time management I acknowledged how much time I had.

If I had the oppurtuinity to make this product again would you do anything different?

I would actually as I would something more challenging I was considering to have a go at anime actually as thsi visual style is popular in Japan and I have some favourite anime such as Pokemon which I have liked since I was a child. Anime is much harder as the key word is exaggeration. The illustrations are physically deranged such as massive hair or a character wielding a sword which is twice his size. Also the main feature which I like about anime is the eyes as these are perfect as they are colored and are good in a visual quality.

Evaluation for my Unit 67 Game Trailer Storyboard part 6

Did you encounter any other problems.

Not really as the only problem I add was in Photoshop with the multiple layers. It was confusing as there was loads of them. There were layers everywhere and it was hard to selct which one I needed. I overcame this problem by putting them in order. Such as first ther layout then the scanned images then the color scheme and afterwards the backgrounds.

What have you learnt form this experience?

I have learnt that illustrations require patience and dedication. As drawings can't be rushed the furhter character development images were traced as that was the requirment to change the design of the character in different ways to manipulate the image in your eyes. I did this and made different themes for them. I learnt little from Photoshop as I already know the basic functions but I did know how to use gradients effectively and also how ot portay certain scenes in a sensitive manner such as death and harmony.

What skills have I developed?

I have developed my drawing skills a bit by practicing and tracing. As to keep your hand steady and help keep stability in doing so. Also how to broaden my mind when it comes to different ideas for characters such as stereotypes and cliches, such as Evil Jack with his red and black robe with his red eyes and balck hair this description is basic but it fits as those two colours are usually associated with evilness. Also in the first few frames I have given the impression of harmony as the sky reflects peace in its weather. The use of an atmosphere has been increased and adding tension has been improved.

Evaluation for my Unit 67 Game Trailer Storyboard part 5

Discuss the content / style of your work

I based my comic around Samurai Jack which was created by Genndy Tartakovsky who has worked on other numerous animation projects such as the Powerpuff Girls and Star Wars the Clone Wars ( the 2D version not the 3D). His legacy is well known as one of his famous aniamtions Dexters Laboratory is popular and well recognised.

I thought of basing the style of my comic around his illustrations as his animations are among my personal favourites considering I drew the story freehand it wasn't that far off. Genndys animation was popular throughout the late 1990's.

The content for my storyboard is basic as Jack is easy to draw as it is really more of a line image rather than a complicated illustration. Also I like the theme of Samurais as they are warriors from days past in Japan. Also the theme for Samurai Jack is based on Jack in different dimensions the worlds he visits are extraordinary and the character he interacts with are extraordinary. For my storyboard I thought what if Jack remained in Japan. Samurais are known to attack other samurais the intention was to highlight this point and Jack has to deal with it. Jacks a hero but he will go to the extreme if pushed hard enough.

Evaluation for my Unit 67 Game Trailer Storyboard Part 4

Discuss the aesthetic aspects of your work and the highlight strengths / areas to develop?

The visual quality of the storyboard is minor as this is my first official storyboard as I lack the experience in this sort of area, it was my first try. One area that can be improved is the hand drawn aspect of the stroyboard as some content does look a bit off.

Also the finished product does look better that I processed it through Photoshop. I think that the color and the gradient tool looks visually effective as they clash and help make the comic more visually enticing.

I also thint that the title scene at the top looks good as I have placed the Samurai Jack logo also I decreased the opacity to make it look transparent. Also the selection of images I used to express the theme further the mushroom cloud clearly expresses the thought of war and conflict. Also looking at the sky in the first few frames the atmosphere is ambient and there isn't much tension. The feeling is pecaeful until the enemy samurai comes to challenge Jack this is when the colour scheme gets a bit darker as it is help assissting in a harbinger effect. Peace is shattered when the enemy arrives it helps visually as his influence is shown in the last few frames were the background is dark and the apperance of Haunter is quite foreboding.

Overall I think the main area I need to develop is my hand drawn quality to help show more expressions in the characters and to also add physical detail such as wrinkles or facial hair just to name a few examples. To make them look more human I would say.

Evaluation for my Unit 67 Game Trailer Stroyboard part 3. continued

To continue with the storyboard I was given a basic storyboard with enough frames to start. Physically I drew the frames in total I did bout nine frames. After I hand drawn the storyboard I scanned them into photoshop when the appropiate layout was formed.

On the other hand I was getting the storyboard layout ready on Photoshop. For the frames I used two layers I made one small with a black background and behind I made another layer but I made it big enough that it gives a simple white outline with this I copied and pasted it eight times to create the amount of frames needed.

On the title section I used the font abbadon for the title and for the speech in the comic, also in the top left corner there is a small spot of white for that effect I used the gradient tool I used this multiple times in my storyboard as this can help create a dramatic effect or help add tension. I also added Jpeg images as this can also help create a visual satisfaction and help form or mold a theme.

My favourite frame would have to be frame eight as this shows the enemy samurai dead and shows plenty of blood, to express this I used multiple brushes to create this effect. There were much choice for this but I used a selected few. Also in the same frame I added an image of the Pokemon Haunter this image helps add darkness to the concept of death as his demeanor, the idea looks sinister and that was the idea I was going for.

Visually the first frame is in 3D but I added a transform tool to add a visual effect which in my honest opinion doesn't work as it is compacted and looks like it is imploding. Anyway the effect of 3D was based on the founding idea of the story in the forest it works as I used 3D Studio Max to create a scene and in that program there was pre-set foliage feature which hap a multiple selection of trees, to help keep the storyboard faithful to the source I added in Japanese Ceerry Blossoms and I also added Willows to help vary it. Also for the background for the top three frames I added a sky image to help it make it look more realistic.

Evaluation for Unit 64, 65 Comparison

Example: Normandy from mass effect

I am going to compare how my ship compares to a professional example.

I have chosen the ship Normandy from Mass Effect

To look at a ship such as the Normandy is to look at perfection itself as this ship has been crafted by the geniuses at Bioware. Their legacy includes the games Baldur’s gate and Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic. Enough about that but since they have worked on a star wars game then they have knowledge on how to work with the sci-fi genre.

Just above is the ship that has been created by a team of professionals. The appearance looks realistic the texturing looks perfect as the metal texture looks real. The physical model has indents into the sides of the ship which show the wings joints. Also the scale of the ship is huge it has been crafted with delicate attention and sensitive eyes. It took them about two to three months to get this complete and the end result was worth it. The size of it looks standard and everything looks symmetrical and balanced.

My new ship took about two weeks to make then again this is my first official project so quality is not as good as the Normandy. My ship below is at a small size and the textures are of a crystal I thought something different might be better. My model looks of a decreased value placed next to the Normandy but the textures look agreeable as the finished render looks realistic. The shape of each ship is not the same of course as the Normandy was done by professionals and my ship was done by me. The inspiration for my ship was the Normandy as the ships tail had a specific animation for when the ship entered FTL (faster than light travel). My animation was basic but the transition was fluent just like when the Normandy is in flight. The visual quality of my ship isn’t that bad with the textures it has since my ship is compact the program had to strain the texture so it wasn’t as visually exciting as it was looking at the texture map. The bigger the ship the more attention you can give it and the more physical detail it can contain.